Administration, Innovation and Environmental Sustainability

Activity type

Attività formative affini o integrative

SSD

GIUR-06/A

Year

1st year

Semester

1st semester

CFU

5

Hours distribution

35 classroom hours

Lecturers

MARIA VITTORIA FERRONI

Activity type

Attività formative affini o integrative

SSD

ECON-01/A

Year

1st year

Semester

1st semester

CFU

4

Hours distribution

28 classroom hours

Lecturers

BERARDINO CESI

ObjectivesThe course on public procurements is an interdisciplinary course focusing on legal aspects (Prof. Maria Vittoria Ferroni) and economic aspects (Prof. Berardino Cesi) within a multilevel
context (European Law and National Law). This course aims to provide students with the necessary tools to prepare for the most essential principles and institutions of public procurement. It will cover the concept of public procurement procedures and their evolution, the principles of public contracts, planning and design, the primary tender documents, contractor selection procedures, sustainable procurement, participating entities and their requirements, bids, procedural remedies, award criteria, and the awarding of contracts. These contents can provide students with practical knowledge to develop specific skills related to national public administrations (including publicly owned companies) and those necessary to understand complex situations to apply such knowledge in the workplace. This course fits perfectly within the specific objectives of the degree program, as it allows for in-depth knowledge and an adequate understanding of the main tools used in the activity and the organization of public contracts. Through the course, the student will acquire a methodology for studying and researching public contracts and will be able to navigate among the leading institutions and public bodies, such as the central purchasing agencies and/or contracting authorities (Consip Italia s.r.l., Regional Governments or Ministries), and private companies that have integrated a procurement office within their internal structure. On one hand, this training provides the student with the necessary preparation for public competitions, and on the other, it gives the possibility of professional development in the private national or international European sector. This will enable students to develop the ability to apply what has been learned during the lectures also in a work-related context or to continue with subsequent levels of study. Finally, the verification of the achievement of the knowledge and abilities described will be realised not only through the traditional final exam but also through the continuous monitoring of the learning outcomes with an intermediate test covering the legal part. The test on the economic part will be conducted as a single exam that will take place at the end of that part of the course.

By the end of the course, the students will be able to orient themselves among the most relevant topics that govern public contracts, also as a training for human resources selections in public sectors.

There are no formal prerequisites. It is recommended to have previously taken the exam in Administrative Law, Political Economy, and Antitrust and competition policy, or more generally, a course in Industrial Economics. For the economic part, it is recommended, while not strictly a prerequisite, to have taken the course in Strategic Decision Theories or, more broadly, in Basic Non-Cooperative Game Theory. Basic knowledge of geometry and mathematics is necessary for the economic part

The course is divided into two modules: One worth five credits focusing on the study of the main legal institutions, and one worth four credits in which students will focus on the economic analysis of public procurement, with particular attention to the Procurement Code. The first module worth five credits, will be held in September, October, and the beginning of November. It will cover the following topics: Contractual activity of public administrations: an introduction. The concept of public procurement procedure. The evolution of the public procurement procedures at European level. The Public Procurement Code: subject matter and types of contracts provided for. The principles of the contractual activity of public administration and particularly the new principles established by the Legislative Decree no. 36 of 2023: the principle of result; principle of trust; principle of market access; good faith principles and protection of legitimate expectations; principles of solidarity and horizontal subsidiarity; principle of administrative self-organization; principle of contractual autonomy; principle of conservation of contractual balance; principles of strict interpretation of exclusion grounds and of maximum participation; the principles of efficiency and effectiveness of public spending; principle of competition. External referral. The sources and the governance in public contracts. Digitalization of the contract life-cycle. The field of application of the code of public contracts. The objective and subjective scope of application of the Public Procurement Code: the Thresholds of the EU; procedures above and below the EU threshold. The planning and design of public administration contracting activities. The sole project manager. Stages of the award procedures. The decision to contract. The tender documents: the tender notice, the invitation letter, the technical specifications, and the rules. Contractor selection procedures: open, restricted, and negotiated procedures, competitive dialogue, partnership for innovation. Framework agreements. Negotiated procedure without the publication of a notice. Preliminary market consultations. Contracts below the EU threshold. Sustainable procurement: environmental and social clauses, minimal environmental criteria. Aggregation, centralization, and qualification of the client. The subjects participating in the tenders: The general requirements and the special requirements for participation. The strictness of exclusion grounds and the remedial procedures. Rules on reliance on the capacity of other entities. Submission of bids. The evaluation committee, the abnormal bids, the contract award, and the standstill clause. Contract execution: overview.
The second module of four credits will take place in November and December, focusing on the economic analysis of the Public Procurement Code. Specifically, it will focus on the award criteria section, the lowest price, the most economically advantageous tender, and life-cycle cost. The economic and technical parts will be studied in detail through the study of the scoring formulas used in awarding contracts. The topic of the division of the procurement contract into lots from both a technical and strategic point of view. Collusion in public procurement will be analysed through an economic and strategic lens, focusing on instruments provided by the Procurement Code that directly impact the propensity of collusion between bidding firms. The role of the Competition Authority (AGCM) will also be discussed in relation to investigations and sanctions applied in public procurement cases. Case studies will be proposed in which both the AGCM and the DGCOMP of the European Commission has intervened in the context of specific public procurement procedures.

Per la parte giuridica uno dei due manuali in alternativa tra:

R. Di Pace, Manuale dei contratti pubblici, Giappichelli, 2023 (dal capitolo 2 al capitolo 8)

M. Macchia (a cura di) Costruire e acquistare, Giappichelli, 2024 (dal capitolo primo al capitolo quarto; capitolo sesto fino a pag. 147 dal capitolo settimo al capitolo decimo).

Per la parte economica sono previste slide in tempo reale fornite dal docente durante il corso, che verranno caricate dal docente sul sito in prossimità della lezione in presenza e comporranno la bibliografia obbligatoria e necessaria.
Ci sono poi alcune letture aggiuntive ad ulteriore chiarimento e per approfondimento quali:
• Cesi B, & M. Lorusso 2020 "Collusion in Public Procurement: the Role of Subcontracting"; with M. Lorusso, Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics (Economia Politica), Vol 37, 251-265.
• 2019 "Transparency in Repeated Procurement: when Hiding is Better"; with A. Di Natale. Economics Bulletin, Vol. 39, No. 1, 14-23.
• 2025 Intermunicipal Cooperation in Public Procurement in Italy: A Strategy for Enhancing Efficiency and Managing the NRRP, with G. Arachi, D. Assisi, M. Giuranno and F. Russo, Temi di Economia Pubblica, Italian Society of Public Economics, 2nd January.
• 2024 Assisi D, Cesi B., Giuranno M, and Russo F. Appalti ben gestiti dalle unioni di comuni, Lavoce.info
• Decarolis Francesco. Comparing Public Procurement Auctions (05/2018), International Economic Review, Vol. 59, No. 2
• Decarolis Francesco. Cronaca di un fallimento annunciato: impiego dell’esclusione automatica negli appalti di lavori pubblici (2011), Giornale di Diritto Amministrativo
• Heimler, “Cartels in Public Procurement,” Journal of Competition Law and Economics, 2012, 8 (4), pp. 849-862
• Albano G.L., Cipollone A., Sparro M. (2015) “Divisione in lotti, partecipazione e competizione nelle gare d’appalto”
• Albano G.L. &; Santocchia M.G. (2010) “A Case Study on Bid Rigging in Centralized Procurement of Audit Consulting Services in Italy, SSNR paper
• “L’attribuzione del punteggio economico nelle gare all’offerta economicamente più vantaggiosa Formule a confronto”, 2011. Ufficio Studi di Consip.
• Dini, F., Dimitri, N., Pacini, R., Valletti, T., (2007), “Formule di Aggiudicazione nelle Gare per gli Acquisti Pubblici”, Consip Notebooks.
• Website AGCM
• Formule di Aggiudicazione (Quaderni Consip)

Altre verranno suggerite durante il corsa ed inserite nel sito dello stesso.

Libro di testo utili come approfondimento e come chiave di lettura a supporto delle slides:
Handobook of Procurement (2006). Doni, Piga, Dimitri. Cambridge press.

Sui principi base delle scelte strategiche o teoria dei giochi è consigliabile: Economia Industriale. L. Cabral, Carocci, SOLO capitolo su Teoria dei Giochi (cap 8, dipende dalle edizioni).


For the legal part one of the two manuals, choosing between:
R. Di Pace, Manuale dei contratti pubblici, Giappichelli, 2023 (from chapter 2 to chapter 8)
M. Macchia (edited by) Costruire e acquistare, Giappichelli, 2024 (from chapter one to chapter four; chapter six up to page 147; from chapter seven to chapter ten).
For the economic part, slides will be given by the professor during the course and will be shared and uploaded on the website before the lesson. These will make up the mandatory and necessary bibliography. There are also some additional readings for further clarification and for in-depth study, such as:
• Cesi B, & M. Lorusso 2020 "Collusion in Public Procurement: the Role of Subcontracting"; with M. Lorusso, Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics (Economia Politica), Vol 37, 251-265.
• 2019 "Transparency in Repeated Procurement: when Hiding is Better"; with A. Di Natale. Economics Bulletin, Vol. 39, No. 1, 14-23.
• 2025 Intermunicipal Cooperation in Public Procurement in Italy: A Strategy for Enhancing Efficiency and Managing the NRRP, with G. Arachi, D. Assisi, M. Giuranno and F. Russo, Temi di Economia Pubblica, Italian Society of Public Economics, 2nd January.
• 2024 Assisi D, Cesi B., Giuranno M, and Russo F. Appalti ben gestiti dalle unioni di comuni, Lavoce.info
• Decarolis Francesco. Comparing Public Procurement Auctions (05/2018), International Economic Review, Vol. 59, No. 2
• Decarolis Francesco. Cronaca di un fallimento annunciato: impiego dell’esclusione automatica negli appalti di lavori pubblici (2011), Giornale di Diritto Amministrativo
• Heimler, “Cartels in Public Procurement,” Journal of Competition Law and Economics, 2012, 8 (4), pp. 849-862
• Albano G.L., Cipollone A., Sparro M. (2015) “Divisione in lotti, partecipazione e competizione nelle gare d’appalto”
• Albano G.L. &; Santocchia M.G. (2010) “A Case Study on Bid Rigging in Centralized Procurement of Audit Consulting Services in Italy, SSNR paper
• “L’attribuzione del punteggio economico nelle gare all’offerta economicamente più vantaggiosa Formule a confronto”, 2011. Ufficio Studi di Consip.
• Dini, F., Dimitri, N., Pacini, R., Valletti, T., (2007), “Formule di Aggiudicazione nelle Gare per gli Acquisti Pubblici”, Consip Notebooks.
• Website AGCM
• Formule di Aggiudicazione (Quaderni Consip)
Other readings will be suggested during the course and added to the course website.
Useful textbooks for further study and as a key reading to support the slides: Handbook of Procurement (2006). Doni, Piga, Dimitri. Cambridge Press.
On the basic principles of strategic choices or Game Theory, it is recommended to read: Economia Industriale. L. Cabral, Carocci, ONLY the chapter on Game theory (Chapter 8, depending on the edition).

Module: Legal profiles
N/D
Module: Economic profiles
N/D

The course will be conducted primarily through traditional lectures. To achieve the above-mentioned learning objectives and to contribute to developing critical learning skills, some sessions will also be dedicated to practical exercises. Attendance is not mandatory to take the exam.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended for the in-depth thematic discussions that will take place in class.

The assessment method will be carried out orally through four questions on the topics covered in the program, to verify the student’s understanding of the basic concepts and legal institutions related to public contracts. Particular attention will be given to the knowledge of the subject, the reasoning ability, the logical coherence of argumentation, and understanding of the methodological approach specific to the course. It will be possible for attending students to take a midterm examination, and the program for this will be communicated during the lesson only for the legal part. This examination will be conducted orally and will consist of two questions, held on the dates and under registration procedures, which will be communicated in class. For the economic part, the number and type of questions will be at the lecturer's discretion. Questions may be answered orally or in written form during the oral examination. For the economic part a system of bonuses is provided. During the course, the lecturer can give additional points to the final exam based on students’ answers to the questions asked in class. Bonus points are valid only for the first exam call of the first examination period.

Public procurement procedures, principles of public contracts, the call for tenders, procedures for selecting the contractor, and abnormally low bids on price and quality. Automatic exclusion of the abnormally low bids and its impact on collusion.

Module: Legal profiles



Module: Economic profiles